Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki didn’t dance around it when asked about Dallas firing head of basketball operations Nico Harrison.
Speaking on Amazon Prime (via Marc Stein), Dirk said the move “probably should have happened this summer,” adding that the franchise simply couldn’t keep operating with a “black cloud” hanging over the beginning of the Cooper Flagg era.
And according to Nowitzki, that cloud was the Luka Doncic trade — a deal fans never accepted.
“That trade just made no sense,” Nowitzki said. “You had this team built around Luka… switchable wings, two lob threats, the whole thing.
“Then he gets hurt on Christmas, and that’s the last game he ever plays in a Mavs uniform. Fans feel like they never got to see the end of it.”
Nowitzki also said he knew immediately that the fan base — one he called “passionate and loyal” — wasn’t going to move on from the decision.
“This definitely set the franchise back,” he added. “But now it’s about building it back up.”
The Mavericks sit at 3-10, still sorting out a roster in flux with Anthony Davis sidelined by a calf strain and trade speculation swirling around the veteran big man.
Nowitzki’s message was simple:
Time to reset, regroup, and get the organization pointed forward again.
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